For this ten-unit building in Courbevoie (Hauts-de-Seine), the project to equip the roof with solar panels is in the feasibility stage. “Our roof is flat, well exposed, and we would like to use the current to power our elevators or operate our ventilation systems and sell the surplus”, explains Michelle Clautour, volunteer trustee of the building. A general meeting should decide in the coming weeks to vote on the project, but “We still lack figures to see if the sum of 16,000 euros planned for the installation of panels will be profitable within a reasonable time”says the building manager.
No figures exist listing the number of condominiums already equipped with solar panels: “For the moment, they are very few, and this concerns those who are already very committed to an environmental approach. But, given the energy prices, the demands should multiply”hopes Philippe Alluin, founder of ReeZome, which assists condominiums in this type of project.
As with individual houses, solar panels in condominiums can be thermal and heat water to power water heaters and radiators. But they are mostly photovoltaic: they produce electricity that can be consumed on site or sold to Enedis, the public operator responsible for power distribution. The building can remain the owner of its solar panels and directly sell the electricity produced, or make its roof available to a third party who will pay rent to the building.
Check the potential of your roof
First step before starting: know if the project is feasible. For this, it is necessary that the building has sufficient space on which the solar panels can be placed.
On flat roofs, the panels will be tilted to the south at an angle of 30 degrees using frames. It is also possible to install the panels on the facade, in particular to replace guardrails, or to use ancillary buildings, such as car parks.
For the installation to be profitable, nothing must shade the panels, be it trees, a nearby building, chimneys or ventilation ducts. It is possible to know what is the level of sunshine of its roof by going to the solar cadastre set up by a large number of local authorities. This is the case in Paris (Cadastresolaire.paris.fr), Lyon (Cadastresolaire.grandlyon.com), the same thing in Lille (Cadastre-solaire.lillemetropole.fr) or even in Bordeaux (Marenov.bordeaux-metropole.fr ) and Montpellier (Montpellier3m.fr).
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